Jonah 2:10 - So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
“So the Lord spoke to the fish”
The words, “So the Lord spoke to the fish,” might seem fairy tale-like or present day cartoon movie-like where people speak with and have relationships with animals, birds or fish, but this is neither a fairy tale, nor is it a cartoon movie. It is the God who created the universe and every living being in it (including the fish), commanding His creation to do something on behalf of the crown of His creation – mankind
It’s only humans that can have a relationship with God, as it was only humans who were created in the image of God - in His likeness, to reflect His character / nature. Animals, birds, reptiles and fish were not created in God’s image, and therefore cannot have a relationship with God. Also, it’s only humans who possess a soul that lives on for eternity. And it’s this fact about humans that not only sets us apart from all of God’s creation, but it’s also what makes us so special to God – special enough that he would come down in the form of a human to save our souls from a lost eternity.
If God chooses to speak to any other part of his creation, animals, birds, sun, rain, wind etc. and command it to do what He desires, He can do that, but as in this case, it’s always on behalf of His people that God does this and not for no reason. Remember the parting of the Red Sea, Balaam and the donkey, the ravens that fed Elijah, the rain that God withheld and then sent during the time of Elijah, the sun that stood still during the days of Joshua, Daniel in the lions’ den, the winds and the waves that were calmed on several occasions during Jesus’ time on earth, the sun that stopped shining during Jesus’ crucifixion and more. All these were done by God and on behalf of humans. In this case too, we see God speaking to the fish, on behalf of a human named Jonah, but not only on account of Jonah, but eventually for the people of Nineveh and for us The Church as well, who have been and still are learning from his story.
Another interesting thing to take note of is that when God intervened in such supernatural ways, it wasn’t just to protect His people or to give them a sign, but so that His people would be a blessing to the whole world. When God parted the Red Sea, it was to save His people, the Jews, who would then be His vehicle instruments, through whom His Son Jesus would come into the world, so that the whole world had a chance to be saved. When the sun stopped shining during Jesus’ crucifixion, it was a clear sign to all the world that Jesus was the Son of God who had come to bring Salvation to the whole world. Let’s always remember that the Lord is not a magician to do things to impress people, but rather He is willing to do the impossible so that we can be His channels of hope to a world desperately in need of hope.
We The Church can recount countless instances in our own lives where the Lord intervened in supernatural ways to provide, protect or guide us, and if we look at the bigger picture we’ll realise that the Lord was doing something in our individual lives so that together we as The Church will be a witness to the world around of the amazingly loving, powerful, just, holy God we worship, and so we might invite them to belong to this amazing family. It was never for us alone that the Lord did what He did – He was doing it in and through us so that the world will be blessed. Let’s never forget this bigger picture of God’s plan for not just our lives, but for the whole world as well.
“…and it vomited Jonah...”
When God speaks, His creation obeys – all but humans though. If you noticed from the above instances of God speaking to His creation, every single time, they obeyed – not once was God’s command met with rebellion. Isn’t that interesting, that the part of creation that is not created in the image of God, with the ability to reflect His nature / character, is far more obedient to God than we humans who are created in His image?
As in the previous cases mentioned, in this case too, when God spoke to the fish, it obeyed and did what God intended – it vomited Jonah. Despite the fact that God caused the fish to ingest Jonah, He prevented the fish from digesting him. If God would have permitted that, then our story would have been over a long time back and we’d have nothing much to learn from it, except that rebellion has tragic consequences – and nothing more.
The Lord knew that the purpose for the fish swallowing Jonah was fulfilled – he was led to repentance. He repented of his rebellion and was now willing to go ahead with fulfilling God’s plan – not just for his life, but for the lives of the people of Nineveh as well.
When the Lord allows us The Church to go through times of adversity and persecution (and we will go through it), He permits it so as to awaken us out of our slumber and lethargy. Though we might have forgotten our identity and the purpose of our existence, God has not and never will forget, and until we return to that understanding of our identity and purpose, the Lord will, in love, do all it takes to get us back on track. And when we repent, we will be restored to our former glory as The Church.
Let us not lose hope and think for one moment that though the church is on the decline in many parts of the world, that in due course, the church will cease to exist. Let’s remember the words of Jesus who said in Matthew 16:19, “…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This means that The Church-at-large can never be destroyed, because the builder and architect is Christ Himself. So let’s not lose heart, but prevail in prayer, labour in service with this hope in mind and never give up.
“…Onto dry land.”
These are amazing three words that often go unnoticed when we go through the story of Jonah. The fish was in the sea – in fact, Jonah said in his prayer that he went down to the depths of the sea – to the foundations of the mountains, which means this fish had gone pretty deep in the waters. But here we see that when God speaks to the fish to vomit Jonah, it just doesn’t obey God immediately and do so in the middle of the sea, but actually finds it’s way to the shore and vomits him there.
Imagine if the fish had to vomit Jonah in the sea itself, he would have had to find the shore and swim to it, but God took care of that struggle by causing the fish to vomit him on dry land. Jonah’s only task now was to get to Nineveh and do what He was commissioned to do, and what He had decided to do after spending three days and three nights in the living submarine as it were.
Imagine the scene today if we were on a beach and saw this really huge fish heading to shore, it might have seemed like one of the many whales that beach themselves, and struggle to head back into the sea and so die there. But remember that this was no whale as a whale cannot swallow a man. The next thing that would have surprised us is, to see a fish vomitting on the shore. That could have been passed off for a case of severe indigestion, but the third and biggest surprise that we would have had, would have been when we saw what it vomited – a man – not a corpse, but a man who was still alive and well. It might have caused the faint-hearted amongst us to literally faint.
Remember the time Jonah was in the ship with the sailors and how, after they discovered that he was the cause of the trouble they were in, despite him telling them to throw him into the sea, they strove to row back to shore but in vain. Here we find, with no effort on Jonah’s part he arrives on dry land. Isn’t it amazing that sometimes when God decides to do something in and through us, no one – not even we can get in His way? It’s amazing how far away from God rebellion gets us and how much pain and misery we experience and cause others as well. But what’s also noteworthy is how repentance causes the Lord to bring us back to the path and in ways that we could never have imagined.
We know that The Church has to a large extent rebelled against our original call to be all that we were meant to be, and to do what we were called, and chosen to do, and as a result we are becoming a laughing stock in many countries, and we are on the decline as well. But let’s also remember that when the Lord begins to deal with us, to bring us to repentance, though the paths He takes us through will be rough and tough, He will bring us through and get us to where we were supposed to be – and all with no effort on our part whatsoever. We still have time to repent and get back to God and to become and do all that we were supposed to, before we head for tougher times of refining for us, The Church and times of redefining to the world as to who we are as The Church.
Let’s seek the Lord while we can – He is merciful and gracious, and will relent if only we will repent. Today is the day – not only is tomorrow not guaranteed us, but it also might be too late. Let’s get back to that place of intimate relationship with God and be about all that the Lord would have us be and do. He is merciful and gracious and will welcome us back with open arms. The world needs to see Jesus in action and since we are the body of Christ, there’s no other way God has designed for them to see Him except through us. Let’s get back to God, if we’ve gone away and if we are enjoying our journey with Him, let’s get more intimate in our walk with Him and let’s mentor others along the way as well.
